Michael’s Bible Journal December 15-21

Good morning Church of God,

As I sit in the cold this morning, I’m thinking about the warmth of this season. Warmth is a beautiful thing. It builds up and invades and changes what we are feeling. Sometimes it’s slow and sometimes it is sudden.

My mind is fixated on the way that a room fills up with a beautiful scent when bread is baked. The toasty aroma has an affect. Jesus called himself the bread of life. This week as I feel his love and see it at work in others, I am warmed to the heart and grateful for His beauty invading our lives.

John 1:4-5 reads, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Just like a room is cold with the absence of heat, the world is cold in the absence of God. He is our light and warmth for now and every age to come. In little Bethlehem, the light of the world became flesh. God the Son put aside his glory, taking on the flesh of a man while retaining the warmth and character of who God is inside of Him. A little baby in a manger foreshadowed God’s plan for all of us – that the light of the world would shine through man again.

Lord Jesus, let each one who reads these words be filled with your love. Strengthen and encourage them to fill the empty spaces in their lives with the love of God.

I am deeply happy and filled with love for you, God’s people. May the Lord be with us. Amen.

Pastor Michael